But sources say Sanchez became closer to Bezos after she separated with Whitesell before Christmas.

"Patrick and Lauren have socialised with Jeff Bezos and his wife for a few years, because both (now former) couples have houses in Seattle," an exclusive source told the New York Post.

"Patrick and Lauren Sanchez have been separated for a while. Their marriage has been off and on for a while, and they tried hard to fix things, but in the fall they officially separated. She had told Patrick that she has been recently seeing Jeff Bezos."

Sanchez and Whitesell wed in 2005 and have two young children.

The National Enquirer is owned by Trump ally David Pecker, who openly despises the Bezos-owned Washington Post.

TMZ said the relationship between Sanchez and Bezos was not "fleeting".

Lauren, a former co-host on Fox 11's Good Day LA, has been a guest host on ABC's The View and Extra.

She was also the original host of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance.

Lauren also runs a company called Black Ops Aviation, which specialises in shooting aerial shots for TV shows, movies and commercials.

It has been reported Sanchez met Bezos while her company was shooting aerial video for one of his side ventures, Blue Origin.

They were most recently seen together at Amazon's Golden Globes party on Sunday.

Bezos and MacKenzie, who have four kids, said they broke up after a "trial separation".

"As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends," they said in a statement.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Bezos have been married for 25 years. Picture: Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage

"If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.

"We remain cherished friends."

The couple met in New York in 1992 when Bezos, then a hedge fund executive, interviewed her for a job.

He set up Amazon as an online bookstore in his garage in 1994, employing his wife as an accountant for the start-up.

His wife is said to have supported him as he turned it into the world's biggest stock market-listed firm.

The author, who won the American Book Award in 2006, was even one of the first employees of Amazon.

They have homes in LA, New York and three other US cities worth a total of $165 million.

The couple are thought to own more land together than almost anyone else in the US, according to Business Insider.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission